Structural Integrity of Centromeric Chromatin and Faithful Chromosome Segregation Requires Pat1

The kinetochore (centromeric DNA and associated protein complex) is essential for faithful chromosome segregation and maintenance of genome stability. Here we report that an evolutionarily conserved protein Pat1 is a structural component of Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinetochore and associates with centromeres in a NDC10-dependent manner. Consistent with a role for Pat1 in kinetochore structure and function, a deletion of PAT1 results in delay in sister chromatid separation, errors in chromosome segregation, and defects in structural integrity of centromeric chromatin. Pat1 is involved in topological regulation of minichromosomes as altered patterns of DNA supercoiling were observed in pat1Δ cells. Studies with pat1 alleles uncovered an evolutionarily conserved region within the central domain of Pat1 that is required for its association with centromeres, sister chromatid separation, and faithful chromosome segregation. Taken together, our data have uncovered a novel role for Pat1 in maintaining the structural integrity of centromeric chromatin to facilitate faithful chromosome segregation and proper kinetochore function.     

Genome-Wide Prediction and Validation of Intergenic Enhancers in Arabidopsis Using Open Chromatin Signatures

Enhancers are important regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes. Enhancers function independently of their distance and orientation to the promoters of target genes. Thus, enhancers have been difficult to identify. Only a few enhancers, especially distant intergenic enhancers, have been identified in plants. We developed an enhancer prediction system based exclusively on the DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs) in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. A set of 10,044 DHSs located in intergenic regions, which are away from any gene promoters, were predicted to be putative enhancers. We examined the functions of 14 predicted enhancers using the β-glucuronidase gene reporter. Ten of the 14 (71%) candidates were validated by the reporter assay. We also designed 10 constructs using intergenic sequences that are not associated with DHSs, and none of these constructs showed enhancer activities in reporter assays. In addition, the tissue specificity of the putative enhancers can be precisely predicted based on DNase I hypersensitivity data sets developed from different plant tissues. These results suggest that the open chromatin signature-based enhancer prediction system developed in Arabidopsis may serve as a universal system for enhancer identification in plants.     

Human Condensin Function Is Essential for Centromeric Chromatin Assembly and Proper Sister Kinetochore Orientation

Condensins I and II in vertebrates are essential ATP-dependent complexes necessary for chromosome condensation in mitosis. Condensins depletion is known to perturb structure and function of centromeres, however the mechanism of this functional link remains elusive. Depletion of condensin activity is now shown to result in a significant loss of loading of CENP-A, the histone H3 variant found at active centromeres and the proposed epigenetic mark of centromere identity. Absence of condensins and/or CENP-A insufficiency produced a specific kinetochore defect, such that a functional mitotic checkpoint cannot prevent chromosome missegregation resulting from improper attachment of sister kinetochores to spindle microtubules. Spindle microtubule-dependent deformation of both inner kinetochores and the HEC1/Ndc80 microtubule-capturing module, then results in kinetochore separation from the Aurora B pool and ensuing reduced kinase activity at centromeres. Moreover, recovery from mitosis-inhibition by monastrol revealed a high incidence of merotelic attachment that was nearly identical with condensin depletion, Aurora B inactivation, or both, indicating that the Aurora B dysfunction is the key defect leading to chromosome missegregation in condensin-depleted cells. Thus, beyond a requirement for global chromosome condensation, condensins play a pivotal role in centromere assembly, proper spatial positioning of microtubule-capturing modules and positioning complexes of the inner centromere versus kinetochore plates.     

水稻条纹病毒RNA4基因间隔区的分子变异

应用反转录－聚合酶链式反应（RT－PCR）和单链构象多态性（single-strand conformation polymorphism,SSCP)技术快速检测我国水稻条纹病毒（RSV）RNA4基因间隔区（intergenic region,IR)的分子变异,结果表明,我国RSV RNA4 IR存在分子变异。供试的7个分离物共有4种泳动带型,其中YL、BS、JD、LY分离物完全一致,而YL、BS、YL及JD4个分离物序列完全一致;JN、PJ、SQ3个分离各不一样,序列之间的同源性均在92％－94％之间.IR序列内部具有两个重要的结构特征：（1）有两处反向重复序列,可形成两个明显的发夹结构,其中一个序列比较保守,形成的发夹结构稳定;但中一个发夹结构由于碱基变异导致其稳定性在各个分离物中差异较大;（2）具有插入序列,相对于日本M分离物,我国7个分离物都有一段长19bp的插入序列,这段插入序列比较保守,各分离物之间仅有1－2个碱基的差异。     

Escape from Mitotic Arrest: An Unexpected Connection Between Microtubule Dynamics and Epigenetic Regulation of Centromeric Chromatin in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Accurate chromosome segregation is necessary to ensure genomic integrity. Segregation depends on the proper functioning of the centromere, kinetochore, and mitotic spindle microtubules and is monitored by the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, defects in Dis1, a microtubule-associated protein that influences microtubule dynamics, lead to mitotic arrest as a result of an active SAC and consequent failure to grow at low temperature. In a mutant dis1 background (dis1-288), loss of function of Msc1, a fission yeast homolog of the KDM5 family of proteins, suppresses the growth defect and promotes normal mitosis. Genetic analysis implicates a histone deacetylase (HDAC)–linked pathway in suppression because HDAC mutants clr6-1, clr3∆, and sir2∆, though not hos2∆, also promote normal mitosis in the dis1-288 mutant. Suppression of the dis phenotype through loss of msc1 function requires the spindle checkpoint protein Mad2 and is limited by the presence of the heterochromatin-associated HP1 protein homolog Swi6. We speculate that alterations in histone acetylation promote a centromeric chromatin environment that compensates for compromised dis1 function by allowing for successful kinetochore-microtubule interactions that can satisfy the SAC. In cells arrested in mitosis by mutation of dis1, loss of function of epigenetic determinants such as Msc1 or specific HDACs can promote cell survival. Because the KDM5 family of proteins has been implicated in human cancers, an appreciation of the potential role of this family of proteins in chromosome segregation is warranted.     

The Proteomic Landscape of Centromeric Chromatin Reveals an Essential Role for the Ctf19CCAN Complex in Meiotic Kinetochore Assembly

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Cytosine Methylation Changes in Rice Centromeric and Telomeric Sequences Induced by Foreign DNA Introgression

Cytosine methylation changes (hyper- or hypomethylation) in centromeric and telomeric sequences were observed in all three studied rice introgression lines containing DNA from wild rice, Zizania latifolia Griseb. The changed genomic Southern hybridization patterns were complex and non-concordant between a pair of isoschizomers (HpaII/MspI) digests, indicating methylation modifications at both the inner and outer cytosines of the CCGG sites. The changed patterns were inherited through generations. Possible mechanism for the methylation changes and their potential implications for the phenotypic variation and genome organization are discussed.     

水稻条纹病毒两个分离物RNA4基因间隔区的序列比较

通过RT-PCR扩增了我国水稻条纹病毒(RSV)山东济宁(JN)、云南宜良(YL)两个分离物RNA4基因间隔区(intergenic region,IR)序列,并克隆于pGEM-T easy载体上.序列分析结果表明:JN、YL两分离物RNA4 IR均由654个核苷酸组成,两者之间的同源率为92%.JN、YL两个分离物RNA4 IR在AU碱基富集处可形成两个明显的发夹结构,其中一个序列比较保守,形成的发夹结构稳定;但另一个由于碱基变异导致所形成的发夹结构的稳定性在各个分离物中差异较大.这些结果说明了我国水稻条纹病毒存在明显的分子变异.     

水稻条纹病毒两个分离物RNA4基因间隔区的序列比较

通过ＲＴ－ＰＣＲ扩增了我国水稻秫纹病毒（ＲＳＶ）山东济宁（ＪＮ）、云南宜良（ＹＬ）两个分离物ＲＮＡ４基因间隔区（ｉｎｔｅｒｇｅｎｉｃ ｒｅｇｉｏｎ,ＩＲ）序列,并克隆于ｐＧＥＭ－Ｔ ｅａｓｙ载体上。序列分析结果表明：ＪＮ、ＹＬ两分离物ＲＮＡ４ ＩＲ均由６５４个核苷酸组成,两者之间的同源率为９２％。ＪＮ、ＹＬ两个分离物ＲＮＡ４ ＩＲ在ＡＵ碱基富集处可形成上明显的结构,其中一个序列比较保守,形成的发夹     

Molecular and Cytological Characterization of Centromeric Retrotransposons in a Wild Relative of Rice, Oryza granulata

Centromeric retrotransposons (CRs) are important component of the functional centromeres of rice chromosomes. To track the evolution of the CR elements in genus Oryza, we sequenced the orthologous region of the rice centromere 8 (Cen8) in O. granulata and analyzed transposons in this region. A total of 12 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) that span the centromeric region in O. granulata were sequenced. The O. granulate centromeric sequences are composed of as much as 85% of transposons, higher than any other reported eukaryotic centromeres. Ten novel LTR retrotransposon families were identified but a single retrotransposon, Gran3, constitutes nearly 43% of the centromeric sequences. Integration times of complete LTR retrotransposons indicate that the centromeric region had a massive insertion of LTR retrotransposons within 4.5 million year (Myr), which indicates a recent expansion of the centromere in O. granulata after the radiation of the Oryza genus. Two retrotransposon families, OGRetro7 and OGRetro9, show sequence similarity with the canonical CRs from rice and maize. Both OGRetro7 and OGRetro9 are highly concentrated in the centromeres of O. granulata chromosomes. Furthermore, strong hybridization signals were detected in all Oryza species but in O. brachyantha with the OGRetro7 and OGRetro9 probes. Characterization of the centromeric retrotransposons in O. granulata confirms the conservation of the CRs in the Oryza genus and provides a resource for comparative analysis of centromeres and centromere evolution among the Oryza genus and other genomes.     

The Cell Cycle Timing of Centromeric Chromatin Assembly in Drosophila Meiosis Is Distinct from Mitosis Yet Requires CAL1 and CENP-C

CENP-A (CID in flies) is the histone H3 variant essential for centromere specification, kinetochore formation, and chromosome segregation during cell division. Recent studies have elucidated major cell cycle mechanisms and factors critical for CENP-A incorporation in mitosis, predominantly in cultured cells. However, we do not understand the roles, regulation, and cell cycle timing of CENP-A assembly in somatic tissues in multicellular organisms and in meiosis, the specialized cell division cycle that gives rise to haploid gametes. Here we investigate the timing and requirements for CID assembly in mitotic tissues and male and female meiosis in Drosophila melanogaster, using fixed and live imaging combined with genetic approaches. We find that CID assembly initiates at late telophase and continues during G1 phase in somatic tissues in the organism, later than the metaphase assembly observed in cultured cells. Furthermore, CID assembly occurs at two distinct cell cycle phases during male meiosis: prophase of meiosis I and after exit from meiosis II, in spermatids. CID assembly in prophase I is also conserved in female meiosis. Interestingly, we observe a novel decrease in CID levels after the end of meiosis I and before meiosis II, which correlates temporally with changes in kinetochore organization and orientation. We also demonstrate that CID is retained on mature sperm despite the gross chromatin remodeling that occurs during protamine exchange. Finally, we show that the centromere proteins CAL1 and CENP-C are both required for CID assembly in meiosis and normal progression through spermatogenesis. We conclude that the cell cycle timing of CID assembly in meiosis is different from mitosis and that the efficient propagation of CID through meiotic divisions and on sperm is likely to be important for centromere specification in the developing zygote.     

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe JmjC-Protein,Msc1, Prevents H2A.Z Localization in Centromeric and Subtelomeric Chromatin Domains

Eukaryotic genomes are repetitively packaged into chromatin by nucleosomes, however they are regulated by the differences between nucleosomes, which establish various chromatin states. Local chromatin cues direct the inheritance and propagation of chromatin status via self-reinforcing epigenetic mechanisms. Replication-independent histone exchange could potentially perturb chromatin status if histone exchange chaperones, such as Swr1C, loaded histone variants into wrong sites. Here we show that in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Swr1C is required for loading H2A.Z into specific sites, including the promoters of lowly expressed genes. However S. pombe Swr1C has an extra subunit, Msc1, which is a JumonjiC-domain protein of the Lid/Jarid1 family. Deletion of Msc1 did not disrupt the S. pombe Swr1C or its ability to bind and load H2A.Z into euchromatin, however H2A.Z was ectopically found in the inner centromere and in subtelomeric chromatin. Normally this subtelomeric region not only lacks H2A.Z but also shows uniformly lower levels of H3K4me2, H4K5, and K12 acetylation than euchromatin and disproportionately contains the most lowly expressed genes during vegetative growth, including many meiotic-specific genes. Genes within and adjacent to subtelomeric chromatin become overexpressed in the absence of either Msc1, Swr1, or paradoxically H2A.Z itself. We also show that H2A.Z is N-terminally acetylated before, and lysine acetylated after, loading into chromatin and that it physically associates with the Nap1 histone chaperone. However, we find a negative correlation between the genomic distributions of H2A.Z and Nap1/Hrp1/Hrp3, suggesting that the Nap1 chaperones remove H2A.Z from chromatin. These data describe H2A.Z action in S. pombe and identify a new mode of chromatin surveillance and maintenance based on negative regulation of histone variant misincorporation.